Perception Vs. Reality

Racism is alive and well! That is the post I just saw on a friend's Facebook page. Mind you this friend is White so I was some what surprised. I immediately thought "If he can see the prejudice stereotyping that goes on in our society then perhaps there is hope for the future after all". I could point to the coverage of the Trayvon Martin trial or the Paula Deen incidents as examples, but where I saw it rear its ugly head was in a sports story. On the surface, NFL star Aaron Hernandez's arrest for murder is simply a case of a young man needlessly taking another young man's life. The shame of it all is that Hernandez seemed to be glorifying a lifestyle that is both unseemly and foolish for a man with his income and his perceived background. If convicted, Hernandez is wrong and deserves to go to jail for ruining two families lives (the victim's as well as his own). What floored me was the racist venom that spewed from the various comment sections about the case. Though Puerto Rican, Hernandez has been called every Mexican racial slur in the book. There have even been instances where they called Hernandez the N-word (because Hernandez's fiance is Black).

As galling as that story was, the Paula Deen fiasco has caused an even bigger outcry. While Hernandez has become the target of scorn and derision, Deen has been portrayed as both a clueless racist, and a sympathetic figure! The common refrain from many was "She was fired for saying the N-word? Isn't there more important things to worry about? Black people use the N-word all of the time! That's reverse prejudice". Never mind the fact that Deen was accused of several vulgar racial incidents (which are highlighted in the link below), never mind that Deen wanted to host an antebellum-themed wedding complete with Black "slaves", it was not even a Black person that complained on Deen; it was a White person!

The perception of race relations in America versus the reality bubbles to the surface when issues such as these are at the forefront of our conscience. Black people are often criticized for having the gall to actually discuss race and discuss their frustrations with racial prejudices and how it affects their life experiences. The common refrain is that we too often live in the past and should embrace the melting pot that is our society here in America while enjoying the freedoms we too often take for granted. Those freedoms are ones that until the 1960's, many minorities did not get to enjoy. Too often, we turn a blind eye to the obvious social prejudices that exist today. Not every Black person that complains of racial profiling is looking for a handout. Not every Mexican looking to obtain basic inalienable rights and a livable wage is affiliated with the cartel. Not every minority is crying for help because we lack the wherewithal to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps the way our forefathers did to make it in the greatest country in the world. I yearn for the day when Aaron Hernandez can be ridiculed only for the heinous crime he is accused of committing; its commentary free of racial overtones and prejudice innuendos. We need to quit running from the reality of race and stop clinging to the outdated perception that Martin Luther King's dream has come to fruition His dream is an evolving dream, one that is far from over because we allow perception to trump reality.   





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